This page will be undated soon with works of the students that I am teaching.
320 Pine
Alma MI 48801
By Appointment only
Click here to get google map direction
This Artist List
The Artist List was created for those who have shown work under my management and for those who I teach in my class studios.
if you like to sign up to take classes please contact me.
Creepy House
Past Artist
Kat Goffnett
Artist's Statement
With my art I like to question things, explore what makes things work, and who people are. I enjoy examining things and
finding the different qualities that can be brought out in them using various angles, lights, and shadows. I tend to find
the most inspiration in random, common objects and the ways in which a camera lens can turn the ordinary extraordinary with a
few tricks.
Most of my pieces displayed here come from my platinum and palladium collection wherein I explored the theme of
abandonment. The subject matter in these photos were found on roadsides or in abandoned buildings. In this series, I set out to
capture the beauty that can be found in solidarity and even in things normally considered to be "eye-sores". Recently, I have began
playing with color.
In using the gum printing process (see Sunset in Venice and Pisa) I have been able to use extreme colors to add
some pop to what may otherwise be considered a less than interesting image. If I had to name an overall theme that motivates my work, I would have to say it is exploration. Whether it is exploring the beauty in an object, the core of who someone is or how something works, or discovering how things look portrayed in a different light, the camera lets me find new ways of seeing things and allows me to share my findings with the world.
Tensile Strength
Holly Schafer
While the female nude has been the subject of countless masterpieces, my
models are primarily males with unidealized body types. The shapes and
forms created by the masculine musculature are very different from their
female counterparts, and there is a unique presence to the male nude.
Giving solidity to the two dimensional forms I create is key. Occasionally,
my figures have a very massive and heavy presence, in spite of the medium.
The figure then becomes a vast, visceral landscape for the eye to travel
across. On one level, my works are a celebration of flesh.
My large pieces explore abstract composition. Keeping the model's face out
of the picture, I like to play with the differences between anonymity and
intimacy, usually juxtaposing the two. My figures are typically nude, and
cropped in a way that focuses on the intimacy created by their nudity. A
subject who lacks a face or any real definable facial feature immediately
loses some of its humanity. By purposefully avoiding the face, bringing out a sense of human empathy becomes the challenge of overcoming the
anonymity of the figure and makes my tonal and color choices all the more
important.
Recently I have begun experimenting with surrealism. With mentors like
Dali and Bacon, I began to probe my subconscious with startling neon
colors. Thin line, geometric shapes and an incredibly limited palette brought out fascinating imagery. These drawings, done solely in gel pen and sharpie
are unplanned and non-representation in a traditional sense. The massive,
clay-like forms are present, as they are in my more representational
paintings, but sometimes they are accompanied by staccato teeth, mouths,
and eyes. Hints of musculature and vague references to human forms are
also present. Most drawings can be "read" from multiple directions, and
there is no immediate cohesion between the objects. These intricately
grafted works are an outlet for tension. Requiring precise layering, the
pieces are always tight and small, a different outlet than my larger, more
fluid paintings. Symbolism in popular culture has also become an iconic
influence, and seems to fit well into the non-method of this style of drawing.
Creepy House
Artist's Statement
With my art I like to question things, explore what makes things work, and who people are. I enjoy examining things and
finding the different qualities that can be brought out in them using various angles, lights, and shadows. I tend to find
the most inspiration in random, common objects and the ways in which a camera lens can turn the ordinary extraordinary with a
few tricks.
Most of my pieces displayed here come from my platinum and palladium collection wherein I explored the theme of
abandonment. The subject matter in these photos were found on roadsides or in abandoned buildings. In this series, I set out to
capture the beauty that can be found in solidarity and even in things normally considered to be "eye-sores". Recently, I have began
playing with color.
In using the gum printing process (see Sunset in Venice and Pisa) I have been able to use extreme colors to add some pop to what may otherwise be considered a less than interesting image. If I had to name an overall theme that motivates my work, I would have to say it is exploration. Whether it is exploring the beauty in an object, the core of who someone is or how something works, or discovering how things look portrayed in a different light, the camera lets me find new ways of seeing things and allows me to share my findings with the world.
Tensile Strength
Holly Schafer
While the female nude has been the subject of countless masterpieces, my models are primarily males with unidealized body types. The shapes and forms created by the masculine musculature are very different from their female counterparts, and there is a unique presence to the male nude.
Giving solidity to the two dimensional forms I create is key. Occasionally, my figures have a very massive and heavy presence, in spite of the medium. The figure then becomes a vast, visceral landscape for the eye to travel across. On one level, my works are a celebration of flesh.
My large pieces explore abstract composition. Keeping the model's face out of the picture, I like to play with the differences between anonymity and intimacy, usually juxtaposing the two. My figures are typically nude, and cropped in a way that focuses on the intimacy created by their nudity. A subject who lacks a face or any real definable facial feature immediately loses some of its humanity. By purposefully avoiding the face, bringing out a sense of human empathy becomes the challenge of overcoming the anonymity of the figure and makes my tonal and color choices all the more important.
Recently I have begun experimenting with surrealism. With mentors like Dali and Bacon, I began to probe my subconscious with startling neon colors. Thin line, geometric shapes and an incredibly limited palette brought out fascinating imagery. These drawings, done solely in gel pen and sharpie are unplanned and non-representation in a traditional sense. The massive, clay-like forms are present, as they are in my more representational paintings, but sometimes they are accompanied by staccato teeth, mouths, and eyes. Hints of musculature and vague references to human forms are also present. Most drawings can be "read" from multiple directions, and there is no immediate cohesion between the objects. These intricately grafted works are an outlet for tension. Requiring precise layering, the pieces are always tight and small, a different outlet than my larger, more fluid paintings. Symbolism in popular culture has also become an iconic influence, and seems to fit well into the non-method of this style of drawing.